Heavy Archers
Slower on foot, yet more heavily armoured, Heavy Archers are a corps of heavy archers available to three factions located in Asia Minor — the Bosporans, Pontids and Armenians. Understandably, these units are slower on foot, yet can be counted on to hold the line. As such, their armour and the reach of their weapons render them the best units to be used for countering enemy ranged units. While they enjoy a defensive bonus versus ALL other archer-type units, however, these heavy units armed with composite bows are better used for holding and defending your lines against cavalry-heavy factions, such as the Suebi or the Bactrians, who have a penchant for using poorly armoured missile cavalry. The armour will slow your Heavy Archers down, but will give them a fighting chance against an enemy that is more lightly armoured by slowing down the ability of said horsemen in killing your archers. If you do find yourself facing these units, be prepared to get out fast infantry or heavy infantry with good stats such as Hoplitai, as well as cavalry. If your units have a counter-armour ability, even better. The cavalry will need a base to fight from, especailly against Pontus, since the Pontic faction usually has its own top-notch cavalry. There is a wealth of units which can be used to counter these archers, ranging from Agrianikoi Pelekephoroi (the cheap option) to Baktrioi Hippeis and if need be, Harmata Drepanephora (the not-so-cheap option). Even two Oxybeletai can make a difference, if used wisely. See also *''Toxotai Syriakoi'' *''Pictones'' *''Komatai Agrianai'' Background The composite bow was a stronger kind of bow which was commonly associated with Middle Eastern and Asian cultures. Although Western Europe had the self bow, which was made entirely out of wood, the composite bow's advantage over the self bow was that it was stronger and thus had more draw weight, making it a more powerful weapon despite its size. The only problem was that it was more complex: composite bows were not a simple thing to make and so were used mostly by the richest and most warlike cultures. As raids by different horse-riding cultures from Asia (such as the Sarmatians, the Indo-Scythians and later the Yuezhi of Western China) became more frequent, armies of the west found it harder to counter them, especially with regards to countering the threat posed by light cavalry. One solution, apart form using more heavily armoured cavalry for deterrence, was to provide footsoldiers with armour, and powerful bows for long-ranged, armour piercing attacks. Armour would slow down the ability of light cavalry to fell them, while the powerful composite bows would provide some decent long-ranged cover to allow for a salvo or two to soften up any enemy cavalry charging en masse. The cost of training and equipping these units, however, was considerable: and so these units often formed an elite, and were not commonly used unless they could be provided with ample protection against cavalry, although some units like those raised by Pontus could defend themselves using thureoi and swords if the need arose. thanvar cameo.png|Asian-styled Heavy Archers Notes This unit is available to Sarmatians and Dacians in Imperivm Invictvm. Category:Armenians Category:Archers Category:Bosporans Category:Pontics